Can You Keep Sea Pork? A Guide to Caring for These Strange Beach Finds
If you’ve ever come across a strange blob washed up on the beach, chances are you’ve encountered sea pork. Despite its meaty appearance, sea pork is not actually pork, but a marine invertebrate called a tunicate. With their blob-like bodies and pinkish color, they can look like raw meat, earning the name “sea pork.”
So what should you do if you find one of these oddities and want to take it home? Can you keep a sea pork as a pet or display specimen? Let’s take a closer look at what exactly sea pork is and how to care for it if you want to hold onto your peculiar beach find
What Is Sea Pork?
Sea pork refers to a few species of tunicates, including Aplidium californicum, Aplidium solidum, and Aplidium stellatum. Tunicates are sac-like marine animals that live attached to rocks, docks, and other hard surfaces in shallow coastal waters.
Their unique skin, called a tunic, gives them their name. It is made of cellulose, proteins, and other substances, giving them a rubbery texture. Inside the tunic are tiny living zooids that form a colony. Each zooid pumps water through its body to filter out microscopic food particles.
Sea pork ranges in color from pink to purple to grayish-white. When they wash up on beaches after storms, their swollen shape and coloration can resemble raw pork fatback. But they are harmless marine creatures, not actual meat.
Is Sea Pork Edible?
While sea pork may look like its namesake, it is not meant for eating. Some tunicate species are consumed in Korea and Japan when extremely fresh, but beach-found sea pork is not suitable for eating.
Not only do they lack flavor, but decaying sea pork can harbor dangerous bacteria, viruses, and toxins. Like with any dead sea life, it’s unsafe to eat them if their freshness is unknown.
Feel free to collect your sea pork, but don’t plan to eat it. Simply admire its unique appearance and learn about this fascinating ocean lifeform.
Keeping Sea Pork as a Pet or Display
Many beachcombers like to take their sea pork home, especially when found in large colonies. Their blob-like alien appearance makes for an intriguing conversation piece to show friends and family. Kids in particular are fascinated by them.
The good news is sea pork requires minimal care to keep for a short time. Here are some tips:
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Rinse gently in seawater to remove debris. Avoid freshwater, which is harmful to them.
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Place in a shallow dish/jar of aerated seawater. Ideal temperature is 60-70°F.
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Keep in a cool, shaded spot out of direct light.
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Change the seawater daily by replacing about a quarter of it. Use dechlorinated water if natural seawater is unavailable.
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Do not feed them, as they filter nutrients from the water.
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Watch for decay signs like severe slime, odor, or mushy texture. Discard if decomposing.
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Return to the ocean after a few days. Sea pork survives briefly in captivity.
Unfortunately, sea pork does not live long in captivity, usually just a couple days before decomposition starts. So it’s best to observe them briefly and return them to their natural habitat.
Common Questions About Sea Pork
Here are answers to some frequently asked questions about these strange sea creatures:
Are sea pork dangerous or toxic?
No, sea pork is completely harmless to humans. They contain no toxins or venom. It is safe to collect them as long as caution is used around dead sea life.
Why do they resemble raw meat?
Their swollen shape and reddish hues coincidentally look like raw pork or fatback. This is based on the natural appearance of certain tunicate species.
Do they feel gross or slimy?
Decaying sea pork can feel quite slimy or mushy. However, freshly washed up specimens feel firm and rubbery, similar to a pencil eraser.
Are sea pork and sea pansies related?
Yes, both are types of tunicates. Sea pansies look like purple flower petals. They sometimes wash ashore alongside sea pork colonies but are separate species.
Where do sea pork colonies form?
Sea pork adheres to shallow surfaces like docks, boats, buoys, and rocky outcrops. Currents and storms then detach whole colonies that wash onto beaches.
Why do they wash ashore more in winter?
Strong winter storms are especially likely to dislodge entire colonies and deposit them on beaches. Sea pork also reproduces more in colder months.
The Unique World of Sea Pork
For ocean life enthusiasts, stumbling upon a sea pork colony is a fascinating experience. These primitive filter feeders have existed for ages, playing their role in coastal ecosystems. While they don’t make good house guests, observing their alien beauty offers a glimpse into the remarkable diversity of ocean creatures. Just be sure to quickly return them to their seawater home.
Sea pork is typically made up of hundreds and at times, millions of tiny zooids.
To create new colonies, these zooids, as larvae, can be free swimming creatures. They gather together and attach themselves to hard substrates.
Then they begin to metamorphose into sedentary creatures. They lose their tails and mobility, while their nervous system essentially disintegrates. These creatures then secrete digested cellulose that they acquire from filtering the sea water. This creates the outer covering of what will be the colonial sea pork.
Upon examining sea pork on the beach, you may notice tiny holes that are similar to human pores. Each of these pores houses its own zooid. The zooids have incurrent siphons that allow seawater in. The water is then filtered and passed through the ex-current siphon, once nutrients are taken from it. When you find sea pork washed up on the beaches, the entire colony has died. The zooids will then fall out of the larger cellulose body.
Solving a mystery about a common sight on local beaches.
Have you ever found something strange on the beaches of Hilton Head Island? What looks like meat or organs washed up on the shore is actually Sea Pork, an animal that lives in the ocean. This marine filter feeder is common in our waters and on local beaches. Its common name comes from the fact that it looks like salted pork and fatback.
Aplidium stellatum, or Sea Pork, is a colonial tunicate. Tunicates are filter feeding organisms with a sack-like body structure. Tunicates can be either singular or colonial organisms. Other types of tunicates that can be found in South Carolina waters include sea squirts and sea grapes. These immobile creatures attach to hard substrates such as docks, pilings, boat bottoms, groins and jetties.
What is a sea pork? All about the blobs spotted on Siesta Key Beach
FAQ
Can I eat sea pork?
What is the purpose of sea pork?
Does sea pork move?
Where is sea pork found?
Is it safe to eat sea pork?
Do not eat sea pork. Have you ever been walking at the seashore and come across an object that looks a little bit like a sand-choked alien organ or a small mammal that’s been turned inside out? That’s sea pork, also known as a beached tuna or saury.
Can one eat pork?
A cooked, medium pork cutlet or steak provides 239 calories, 34 grams protein, 10 grams fat, 4 grams saturated fat, 697 milligrams sodium, and 0 grams carbohydrate, if you eat only the lean part of the steak. Pork contains many of the micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) found in beef and it is high in protein, but can be lower in fat than beef—depending on cut and preparation. Meat from any kind of mammal, including pork, can cause an allergic reaction (and some people who are allergic to mammalian meat also react to poultry).
Does sea pork literally look like pork?
Sea pork is literally named for its appearance. Photo credit: Stephanie Stevenson, Duval County Master Gardener When we encountered sea pork on the beach, we both (most likely!) wondered what it was, given its unusual appearance. Consulting a few resources, I realized we had both discovered one of the oddest and often-questioned finds on our beaches.
What is sea pork?
“Sea pork” refers to a few species of fleshy-looking tunicates, including Amaroucium californicum. Jerry Kirkhart/CC By 2.0